Guest, Sign inJoin

Post to Brookfield

We’ll email a one-tap link to publish your post. No password, and nothing is public until you click it.
Already a member? Sign in
BrookfieldVT OldTownHallPhoto: User:Magicpiano · CC BY-SA 4.0
C+Hazard risk
Natural hazards in Brookfield · FEMA

FEMA expects about as much hazard damage per building in Brookfield as in the typical U.S. town, mostly from river and rain flooding

On FEMA’s National Risk Index, Brookfield gets a C+ for hazard risk: higher expected damage per building than 59% of U.S. towns. Most of that expected damage is river and rain flooding (92%). FEMA’s files show no paid flood insurance claims here.

River and rain flooding 92%Hurricanes 4%Strong wind 1%

Graded on FEMA’s expected yearly building damage per dollar of building value (NRI v1.20, December 2025), weighted by where residents live; flood claims are shown, not graded. How hazard risk is graded

more than 59%of U.S. townsLess damageMoreExpected yearly damage per dollar of building, vs. the 21,298 U.S. towns we grade
Hazard risk
C+
in Vermont · higher than 59% of U.S. towns
Main hazard
River and rain flooding
92% of expected building damage
Flood claims
0
paid since 1978 · $0
Disasters paid out here
8
of 31 declared for Orange County
By hazard

What Brookfield faces

Each hazard’s share of the building damage FEMA expects here, and how its rate compares with the rest of the country.

River and rain flooding

92%of expected building damage
Above average · higher than 78% of U.S. census tracts
Recorded about once a year in the area
Smaller shares here
 Hurricanes Strong wind Earthquakes Tornadoes Winter storms Ice storms Lightning Wildfire Landslides top 4% Hail Cold waves Heat waves Avalanches top 1%
FEMA models no building damage here
Coastal floodingTsunamisVolcanic activity

Shares are of FEMA’s expected building damage, the measure the grade uses; ranks compare each hazard’s building-damage rate with all 85,154 U.S. census tracts. In FEMA’s terms, river and rain flooding is FEMA’s “Inland Flooding” (rivers and streams overflowing their banks, or rain overwhelming drainage). FEMA defines coastal flooding as high or rising tides and storm surge, so surge damage is counted there. Drought isn’t listed: FEMA counts its losses in crops only.

Flood risk changes street by street. Check a specific address on FEMA’s flood map, and ask about flood insurance before you buy.
Hazard risk grade

What’s behind Brookfield’s grade

River and rain flooding is 92% of the building damage FEMA expects in Brookfield, and Brookfield’s rate of river and rain flooding damage is higher than 78% of U.S. census tracts.

Where Brookfield sits
Brookfield
Least damageMiddleMost damage

C+ higher expected damage per building than 59% of U.S. towns (21,298).

All of Brookfield’s residents live in one census tract; the figures are that tract’s.

What drives the damage to buildings
River and rain flooding92%Hurricanes4%Everything else5%

In dollars, FEMA expects about $481K a year in losses across Brookfield: $396K to buildings, the rest to people and crops.

Shared tract.All of Brookfield’s 1,244 residents (2020 census) live in one census tract, which it shares with Braintree town (1,207 residents). FEMA publishes its model by tract, so the rate and the hazard mix are the tract’s, the same for all of them. The flood claims below are the town’s own.
A shared figure. The grade describes the whole tract, not each street in it, and FEMA’s model is an average year for today’s buildings, not a record: the claims below are the record.

How TownRatings grades hazard risk →

Flood insurance claims

Does Brookfield flood? No paid flood claims on record

FEMA’s records show no paid flood insurance claims in Brookfield. That’s not a promise: most homes don’t carry flood insurance, so small floods go unrecorded.

of all homes are insured
No community discount

Brookfield isn’t in FEMA’s Community Rating System, which cuts flood insurance up to 45% in towns that do extra flood-proofing.

Insurance rates: Orange County.
Disasters

8 federal disasters brought FEMA money to Brookfield

Disasters that paid out in Brookfield itself (aid to households or repair grants to the Town of Brookfield), newest first, with that year’s flood claims.

  1. 2023Severe Storm and Flooding$78K to the Town of Brookfield for repairs
  2. 2023Severe Storms, Flooding, Landslides, and Mudslides30 households applied for aid$130K aid approved$1.1M to the Town of Brookfield for repairs
  3. 2019Severe Storms and Flooding$49K to the Town of Brookfield for repairs
  4. 2017Severe Storms and Flooding$74K to the Town of Brookfield for repairs
  5. 2014Severe Winter Storm$25K to the Town of Brookfield for repairs
  6. 2013Severe Storms and Flooding$215K to the Town of Brookfield for repairs
Show all 8
  1. 2011Tropical Storm Irene8 households applied for aid$50K aid approved$63K to the Town of Brookfield for repairs
  2. 2007Severe Storms and Flooding$216K to the Town of Brookfield for repairs
Disasters declared, by decade
Paid out in BrookfieldOrange County only

Orange County has had 31 natural disasters declared by the President since 1953, most often severe storms, then floods.

Were you here?

Old photos of Brookfield after a storm or flood belong in the town’s history. Add one, or share what you remember below.

Add to the Brookfield archive →
Next door

Brookfield and its neighbors

Brookfield is 3rd of the 4 graded towns here, from least expected damage per building to most. Tap a town to see its hazards.

Randolph: hazard risk B+Braintree: hazard risk C+Chelsea: hazard risk CRoxbury: not gradedRandolphBraintreeChelseaRoxburyBrookfield
Lowest fifthSecondMiddleFourthHighest fifth
TownHazard riskMostly (buildings)Flood claims
RandolphB+less damage than 74%river and rain flooding6
BraintreeC+more damage than 59%river and rain flooding2
BrookfieldC+more damage than 59%river and rain flooding0
ChelseaCmore damage than 71%river and rain flooding17
Roxbury—942 residents; we grade 1,000+

Hazard risk = FEMA’s expected yearly building damage per dollar of building value, vs. the 21,298 U.S. towns we grade; the map is shaded by fifths of the same scale. Flood claims = paid federal flood insurance claims on record.

Be ready

Get ready for what Brookfield faces

A short kit for the hazards that drive the building damage here, what to check before you buy, and where neighbors get alerts.

When the river rises
  • Turn around at flooded roads: a foot of moving water can carry off a car.
  • Flood insurance usually takes 30 days to start, so buy it before the forecast.
  • Keep papers and medicines up high, in a grab-and-go bag.
More from Ready.gov ↗
Before you buy or rent
  • Look up the address on FEMA’s flood map.
  • Ask the seller or landlord whether it has ever flooded, and what flood insurance costs there.
  • Get a flood insurance quote early: policies usually start 30 days after you buy.
When a storm is coming
Forecast and alertsWeather →911, the nearest ERSafety →

Know where neighbors sign up for alerts? Add it to the Handbook so everyone has it.

Questions about natural hazards in Brookfield

Is Brookfield at risk for natural disasters?

On FEMA’s National Risk Index, Brookfield has higher expected damage per building than 59% of U.S. towns: C+ for hazard risk. Most of the expected damage is river and rain flooding (92%). The figures are for the one census tract the town shares with its neighbors. This is FEMA’s model of an average year for today’s buildings, not a forecast.

Is Brookfield in a flood zone?

Flood zones are drawn street by street, so the answer depends on the address: look it up on FEMA’s flood map. In Orange County, 0.9% of all homes carry federal flood insurance.

How much is flood insurance in Brookfield?

FEMA’s Community Rating System list shows no discount for Brookfield’s flood program. Premiums depend on the building; policies usually start 30 days after you buy, so get a quote early.

What was the biggest storm in Brookfield?

By FEMA money that reached Brookfield, Severe Storms, Flooding, Landslides, and Mudslides (2023): 30 households applied for aid, $130K approved, and $1.1M to the Town of Brookfield for repairs.

Is Brookfield at risk from river and rain flooding?

It is the largest share of the building damage FEMA expects here (92%), and Brookfield’s rate for it is higher than 78% of U.S. census tracts.

Storm stories

Memories, warnings and help from neighbors in Brookfield.

Town Square →
Start the conversation

Sources: FEMA National Risk Index v1.20 (December 2025), census-tract table, combined by where Brookfield’s residents lived in the 2020 census; OpenFEMA: NFIP redacted claims, multiple-loss properties, community status book and residential penetration rates, housing assistance (owners and renters), public assistance funded projects, hazard mitigation properties and disaster declarations. Homes: Census ACS 2020–24. Preparedness tips: Ready.gov. FEMA’s model is an average of expected damage, not a forecast. How hazard risk is graded.